Arching mechanism



Sept. l5, 1931. w. E. wATKlNs ARCHING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet lOriginal Filed June 16 Sept., 15, 1931. W. E. wATKlNs ARCHING MECHANISMOriginal Filed June 16. 192e 2 sheets-sheer 2 Mu m m m m -l |.m s.

YPatented Sept. 15, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'WILLIAM E.WATKINS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO COPPER PLATE SHEET AND TUBECOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY ARCHINGMECI-IAN ISM 'Original application led June 16, 1926, Serial No.116,486. Divided and this application filed August 9,

1929. Serial This invention relates to mechanism for arching metalsheets, and is a division of my copending application, Serial N 0.116,486, filed J une 16, 1926.

In said application I have disclosed and claimed a process of treatingmetal sheets in which the sheets are fed Continuously and Ysuccessivelythrough suitable apparatus by means of which they are first arched, thenpickled, then washed to remove the pickling solution, then iiattened anddried, again arched, and then conveyed through an annealing furnace inarched form.

An object of the present invention is the provision of improvedrmeansfor arching metal sheets.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a vertical, sectional view of the arching mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of part of the crowning mechanismshown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, transverse, sectional view taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 1 showing details of the arching mechanism.

The arching mechanism comprises two coop erating sets of wheels ordisks, one set being arranged above the other, and the two sets beingadapted to force the center of each sheet upward as it progresses, whileholding the side edges of the sheet down. v

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated a framework 101 having front uprightportions 102 carrying an upper cross-beam 103. A screw- "i threadedadjusting rod 104 extends parallel to the beam 103 and is j ournaled atthe ends of this beam. Two blocks 105 each have screwthreaded engagementwith the adjusting rod 104. These blocks are each connected to an uppersupporting beam 106. The two supporting beams, each designated by thenumeral 106, are supported at their rear ends by a second adjusting rod107 extending parallel with a second cross-beam 108. Each of theadjusting rods 104 and 107 is provided wlth right and left handscrew-threads so that when either of these rods is turned, as byapplying a crank to a squared end such as that shown at 109@ in Fig. 2,the adjacent ends of the supporting beams 106are brought closer togetheror spread further apart, depending upon the direction of rotation of theadj usting rods.

Upper front bearing beams 109 are pivoted to each of the uppersupporting beams 106, as shown at 110. Each of the two beams 109 carriesa plurality of stub shafts, each carrying a wheel or disk 111. Thesedisks are inclined at an angle to the vertical, as shown in Figs. 2 and3, and serve to engage the upper surface of each of the sheets passedthrough the arching mechanism, so as to hold the edges of the sheetsdown while the center is being forced up by the lower set of archingdisks hereinafter described. The rear end of each of the upper bearingbeams 109 is journaled in a bearing block 112, adjustably mounted on acorresponding supporting beam 106. The position of each bearing beamwith respect to the corresponding supporting beam can be varied byadjusting the screw 113 having a squared end 114 and a lock nut 115. ItWill be understood that a bearing block and an adjusting screw areprovided for each of the bearing beams 109, as shown in Fig. 3. Theblocks 112 can beV fixed to the supporting beams 106 in any adjustedposition by tightening nuts 116 on boltspassing through slots 116@ inthe bearing blocks. This provides independent adjustment of the rearends of the two bearing beams 109.

A pair of upper rear bearing beams 117,'

each cal ryin'g four or five wheels or disks'lll, is arranged with theforward end of each bearing beam journaled to the corresponding bearingblock 112, and with the rear end of each beam journaled to a rearbearing block 118. Each of the rear bearing blocks may be identical withthe bearing blocks 112, and may be provided with the same adjusting andclalnping devices. The rear bearing blocks 118 may be adjusted for thepurpose of adjusting each of the rear bearing beams 117 independently ofeach other and of the front bearing beams 109. The disks 111 carried bythe upper front and rear bearing beams are not power driven; they aresimply rotatably mounted on stub shafts carried by the bearing beams.

The lower set of disks (shown at 126) adapted to cooperate with theupper set of disks just described, comprises a plurality of wheels ordisks of a diameter preferably larger than that of the disks 111 andeach mounted ona shaft extending at right angles to the direction oftravel ofthe sheets through the arching mechanism. In Fig. 1, I haveshown eight of these shafts, the forward six, designated by the numeral119, being journaled in front bearing beams 120.A Each of the two lowerfront bearing beams 120 is pivoted about the axis of the first shaft 119and the rear end of each of these beams is detachably connected, as bymeans of a bolt 121 projecting through a slot in an integral extension122 ofthe bearing beam, and secured to a lower supporting beam 123. Anadjusting screw 124 can be used as a means for adjusting the position ofthe rear end of each lower bearing beam 120 with respect to thecorresponding supporting beam 123. The two rear transverse shafts 119are journaled in separate lower bearing beams 125, each having itsforward end journaled on an axis concentric with lthe axisA of the lasttransverse shaft 119 carried by the front bearing beams 120. The rearend of each ofthe lower rear bearing beams 125 is detachably andadjustabl'y connected to the lower supporting beam 123 in amannersimilar to that of the rear end of each front bearing beam 120,thus permittingindependent [adjusting of each of the lowerv rear bearingbeams. Y

The disks 126 carried by the shafts 119 are somewhat larger than thedisks 111 carried by vthe stub shafts on Athe upper bear-ing beams 109.Referring to Fig. 2, I have illustrated four disks 1:26 carried by thefirst shaft 119. These disks are arranged so that the horizontal planeinclud-ing the upper edges of the 'disks 126 coincides at leastapproxima-rely with the horizontal plane including the lower edges ofthe upper disks 111. The first two or three shafts 119 may each carryfour disks 126 arranged substantially as shown in Fig. 2; the remainingshafts 119 preferablycarry only two disks, as shown in Fig. 3. Whereonly two disks are provided they are arranged closer together than theoutside disks -o-n the shafts carrying four 'disks apiece. All of thedisks on the yshafts 119 are preferably of the fsame diameter. The rearends of each upperfront bearing beam and the corresponding lower frontbearing beam are cleser together than the front ends of these members,la'nd accordingly the cen-ters of the lower disks near the rear are`closer to the centers of the upper disks 111. Accordingly, as thesheets through the arching mechanism., the center of each sheet isforced upward, while the Aedges are held down, :and in this way thesheets are delivered in arched form from the rear of the archingmechanism. Y

Each of the lower disks 126 is power driven. The ends of the shafts 119are pro vided with sprocket wheels 127 and adjacent sprocket wheels areconnected by a sprocket chain passing over all of the sprocket wheels.

The front sprocket 128 is driven by means of a chain 129 connected to asprocket wheel on a counter shaft 131 driven from any suitable source.An adjustable idler sprocket wheel 135 is mounted on the lower support-`ing beam 123 vand serves to take up. the slack in the sprocket chainpassing over the sprocket wheels on the shafts 119.

I claim:

l. An arching mechanism vfor metal sheets of lower rollers 'and thelower peripheral, edge of the .first set of upper rollers being arrangedin substantially the same plane, the distance between the centers of therollers on yeach shaft and the adjacent upper rollers decreasing wherebythe center `of al sheet passed between said rollers will be forcedupwardly and the edges held down.

2. An arching mechanism for metal sheets comprising a plurality ofshafts, ak set of lower rollers mounted on each 4of said shafts adjacentthe center and adapted to engage the lower surface of the sheets, a.plurality of sets 'of upper rollers rotatably supported above saidshafts and adapted to engage the upper surfaces of the sheets Aneareaohedge, the upper peripheral edge of said first set of lower rollers andthe lower peripheral edge 'of the first set yofv upper rollers beingarranged in substantially the .sa-me plane, the distance between thecenters of the rollers on each shaft land the adjacent upper rollersdecreasing whereby the center of a sheet passed between said rollerswill be forced upwardly and the edges held down and means for drivingsaid shafts. l

'3. Arching mechanism for metal sheet comprising a frame, a plurality ofshafts mounted `in said frame,V lower rollers carried by said shafts,bearing members pivotally mounted on said frame and' adj-ust'L able withrespect thereto, yupper rollers carr-i'ed by 'said bearing members andarranged in sets, said lower rollers engaging the center lof :the undersurface Yof said sheets 'and said upper :rollers engaging the uppersurfaces of sai-'d sheets near the edges thereof, the upper peripheraledge Aof the first set of lower rollers and the lower peripheral edge ofthe first set of upper rollers being arranged in 4substantially thesaine plane, the distance between the centers of the *upper and lowerrollers decreasing whereby the icc CJI

center of a sheet fed through said rollers will be forced upwardly andthe edges held down.

4. Arching mechanism for metal sheets comprising a frame, a plurality ofshafts mounted in said frame, lower rollers carried by said shafts,bearing members pivotally mounted on said frame and adjustable withrespect thereto, upper rollers carried by said bearing members andarranged in sets, said lower rollers engaging the center of the undersurface of said sheets and said upper rollers engaging the uppersurfaces of said sheets near the edges thereof, the upper peripheraledge of the first set of lower rollers and the lower peripheral edge ofthe first set of upper rollers being arranged in substantially the sameplane, the distance between the centersof the upper and lower rollersdecreasing whereby the center 0f a sheet fed through said rollers Willbe forced upwardly and the edges held down, and means for driving saidshafts.

5. Arching mechanism for metal sheets l comprising a frame, a pluralityof shafts mounted in said frame, lower rollers carried by said shafts,bearinf.r members pivotally mounted on said frame and adjustable withrespect thereto, inclined upper rollers carried by said bearing membersand arranged in sets, said lower rollers engaging the center of theunder surface of the sheets and said upper rollers engaging the uppersurfaces of the sheets adjacent their edges, the upper peripheral edgesof the first set of lower rollers and the lower peripheral edges of thefirst set of upper rollers being arranged in substantially the sameplane, the distance between the centers of the upper and lower rollersdecreasing whereby the center of a sheet passed between said rollerswill be forced upwardly and the edges held down.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM E. WATKINS.

